with 30 minutes of shooting light I heard some very light crunching behind me. Of course it was at my 6:00 (would have been 8:00 the way I was in the tree last couple times). It was a pair of does creeping in. They were on the thickest trail in there so I had to wait them out. One stopped at 20 yards behind vines and trees while the other kept moseying. When she hit the clearing at 20 yards I let fly and put it through her. Full pass through, the type where the lumenock is out the other side like it never hit the deer. Replaying the shot I’m sure it was inline with the back of the leg and she was pretty much dead on broadside. She bounced 40 yards and stopped. I thought she’d fall over right there but I didn’t hear a crash. I also didn’t hear the other deer take out so I grabbed another arrow blind and nocked it. She basically didn’t move on the shot and was trying to piece together what she was looking at up in the tree. After 2 minutes that felt like eternity she started moseying again to my 4:00. When she got behind a tree I drew back but coming out the other side I didn’t have a clean shot so I had to hold. And hold. And hold. It was well over 3 minutes. I was bracing my arm on the tree behind me and my bottom cam on my leg. I couldn’t let down because as soon as she took a half step her head was out and I wouldn’t get to draw. So I held some more. She finally took 3 quick steps and stopped. I centered the pin on her vitals and loosed the arrow. I watched the nock zip through her and knew it was back and a little high. Holding that long I think my arm just gave way at the shot and I lost my form. I thought I was going to have a tracking job on her until she stopped after 30 yards and plowed her nose into the ground.
Since I could see the second on the ground, I went for the first while I still had a little light. Surprisingly there wasn’t nearly the blood I was expecting. Blops and small puddles, followed by a couple drops for 10 yards. I followed that for 60 yards or so, across a road and down a trail. The blood picked up more from yards 60-80 and I found a good puddle where she must have stopped. I stopped the track there because
I needed to get home sooner than later. So went back to the first deer, recovered her and got her into the truck. Waiting at home now for my wife to get home to go track the second.
Im replaying the shot in my head and still haven’t figured out what isn’t right. I think I entered/hit 1/3 down from the top and in line with the leg. On a broadside deer that should be double lung, coming out in the lower half of the deer with sprayed blood (I was about 25’ up). Thinking through possibilities, if I hit higher than that then it could be single back lung but I don’t think so. Theres no bubbles in any of the blood and no spray. If the deer was slightly quartering to then it would be single lung and liver at that entry. Again, no bubbles. Any further forward and it would be muscle plus I would have expected to hit bone/blade which would have limited penetration. She didn’t react like I hit anything solid. If she was quartering to and I am a little further back that could be a liver shot. She didn’t react heavy, just jumped, ran 30 yards, and walked the rest. That is a soft tissue hit for me, maybe liver, definitely not bone. The blood on the ground and arrow was fresh bright red blood which tells me arterial. There wasn’t a ton of blood on the arrow and there was a good bit of fat. Fat could be brisket if I am forward but I don’t think I’m that far forward and down. The doe I already recovered had a good bit of fat in her. Maybe I hit where I think but came out through the opposite leg which wiped the arrow and slowed the blood.
either way, I’m going to give it a few hours of looking tonight until I burn all the batteries in the lights. If she sits overnight I’m pretty sure coyotes will get her.
